NEW YORK - Derek Jeter returned to the Yankees' lineup on Sunday, and made sure he wouldn't have to test his quadriceps strain right away.

He homered on the first pitch he saw from Tampa Bay Rays lefty Matt Moore.

Jeter approached the plate to a standing ovation in his first at-bat of the game. Moore served up a 92 mph fastball and Jeter drove the ball over the right-center field wall in Yankee Stadium for his second hit and first home run of the season.

The home run was Jeter's first since Sept. 9, 2012, and earned him a curtain call from the enthusiastic Yankee Stadium crowd.

The shortstop started for the first time since July 11, when he suffered a quadriceps strain in his only Major League game of the season after a broken ankle sidelined him for all of April, May and June.

With their offense struggling to score runs, the Yankees have asked the 39-year-old Jeter to temper his noted celebrated hustle on infield grounders in the hopes of keeping him on the field for more than one game this time around. But Jeter says he doesn't know any other way.

"It's kind of hard because I've never really done it," Jeter said before Sunday's game. "I've come back from injuries, yeah, and taken a little time before I've run as hard as I can. But it's not like I'm jogging to first base. I can't do it; I don't think I can do that."

Manager Joe Girardi admitted it won't be easy to convince Jeter to run under control.

"The last time I checked, they don't give me a bungee cord that I can attach to him while he's hitting," Girardi said. "The only thing I can do is preach it to him.

"I told him once, and I'll tell him again (Sunday), 'I know it's not in your DNA, but you're going to have to find a way to run under control when it calls for it. If there's a situation when you have to run hard, then you have to run hard. But you have to protect your leg and your body for a few days and get through this.'"

With regular starters Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira all having missed the bulk of the 2013 season with injuries, the Yankees' offense has managed only a .242 batting average with a .674 OPS – both second-worst to the Houston Astros in the American League.

"I know we've been scuffling a bit scoring runs, so hopefully I can help in any way," Jeter said. "But we need contributions from a lot of people, not just myself. It's not like I'm some savior that's coming here all of a sudden, and we're going to just start winning every day. Everybody has to contribute."

Girardi acknowledged the importance of having his shortstop back on the field as his fourth-place club struggles to keep pace with the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.